Toes in the Water

Well, another Columbus Day has passed, and so has another trip to Chincoteague Island, VA, with my friends. This house was the biggest yet rented (and probably the biggest house we will ever rent- it's the biggest on the island!) and filled with much happiness and good food. Here are some sights from the trip:

The Chincoteague Lighthouse. We visit the island every year, and this is the first I've been to the lighthouse in... a long time. Didn't go inside, but I'm old now and have trouble with all the steps.



Here's a lovely view from the back of the house. In spite of the weather forecasters' doom and gloom, it was all in all a great weekend.



Yeah, that's right. The house had an ELEVATOR! aka, kids'-attention-getter. Okay, I rode it twice.

That's all for now. I'm feeling a bit under the weather, so there most likely won't be a post Friday, but I'll be back Monday. Oh- extra credit to anyone who has a suggestion for a Halloween costume for me.

Music: "Toes" - Zac Brown Band

Walking on the Moon

Or at least, walking on the beach.

Here's but one of many pictures I took on this past weekend's annual trip to Chincoteague. Taken with my phone, no less. When I bought it, the first thing I asked the clerk was "which phones have the best camera?" This one is surprisingly good, with an actual physical zoom and focus.

I was walking on the beach, since that's something to do on the beach that doesn't involve lying in the sand. I thought it would be cool to take some pictures, and thought of my footprints in the sand. Of course, it made me think of that poem/greeting card saying about how God will carry you, which is why you only see one set of prints. Made me laugh, so I took the picture.

Well, as I was looking at the picture tonight, I saw there was a second set of prints.

And they were walking away from me...

-sigh-

Anyway, that's about it this time around. I have some sketches that need scanning and cleaning up, not to mention all the other pictures that need work on. I just connected my computer to my TV, so everything looks MUCH BIGGER now- so hopefully less squinting as I work on the pictures one pixel at a time. But we'll see.

Cheers for now!

Music: "Be" - Neil Diamond

Portrait of the Artist as a Young Crimebuster

I'm back.

So, here's the second part of my attempt to 'loosen up' my drawing. At this point, Sean had seen what I was doing/not doing, and told me to really loosen the drawing- to not try to hit the image right away, but to just let the pencil draw what it will, and find the shape in it- like a cloud(Sounds very Zen, I know). This time, I actually took to heart what he'd said, and so I think the results came out much better. After trying for more of the same with the first cloak, I really just let myself start drawing with the second... and ended up drawing a cross between Nite Owl and, in my opinion, myself. First, Nite Owl is a character from The Most Influential Graphic Novel of All Time, aka Watchmen, and second, it's a pudgy guy with glasses. Combine the two, and that's what you get. I'm really pleased with how he turned out, especially since I didn't know it was him until I was partway through. Somehow, I think I managed to capture a fair bit of emotion in him, through his pose and posture. Anyway, it was cool. Finished with a quick sketch of some superwoman-type and a REALLY vague sketch of a face from a DVD case. There's definitely more to come from this loosy-goosy style, to be sure.

The weekend was excellent, as always. Delightful company, wonderful weather (hey! No hurricanes!), fantastic food, unexpected and awesome conversations, and kids- who can ask for more? I also got to draw, if only a little bit. Which is fine, as I wasn't in the mood for much drawing. Also got to take plenty of pictures with the new phone, some of which I'll post here soon. There's probably some commentary to be had on the weekend in general, but we'll see what happens. I will say, that I was very fortunate to be able to get caught up with some good friends who I haven't seen since leaving- it did my heart good to see them, and made the mad dash to get down to MD by Wednesday night more than worth it. If only I could drive down there every other Thursday... Anyway, it was great to be there, and I can't wait to visit again.

Okay, so there was a little commentary on the weekend. Sorry.

More to come!

Music: "Tonight and the Rest of My Life" - Nina Gordon

Holding Pattern

Sorry, no post today, I've been busy busy busy gathering all my things together for the annual Chincoteague Trip- our Tenth Anniversary! I'll be back... Wednesday with a report. Along with actual art. No, really.

Have a good weekend- I know I will!